Mechanical Systems Provide Energy Efficient Comfort

Mechanical features of the Minnesota Senate Building provide plumbing and heating and air conditioning throughout the building. The Plumbing and hot and chilled water systems fabricated by Horwitz in New Hope, and the large air handling units manufactured by Daikin Applied Americas Incorporated in Owatonna, are designed to work together to provide energy efficient comfort to the building.

Horwitz Mechanical Construction and Service in New Hope design and install the mechanical systems. Workers assemble plumbing and hot and chilled water pipe groups at their New Hope shop, rather than at the building site. According to Project Manager Matt McKinney, prefabrication is an efficient process, "We palletize those things we send them out to the job site. The guys out on the job site take ‘em, take those parts up to the locations, put them in place. It’s a much more safe, efficient process."

The air handling units manufactured at Daikin are created nearly from scratch. Ben Schlinsog is the Regional General Manager, "… we start with raw sheet metal. It comes in a roll. We have machines that cut it, punch it, bend it form it, into the shapes that we need." Those pieces are then assembled into four separate air handling systems, each consisting of four individual units with specific functions. Like the pipe and plumbing systems at Horwitz, the finished air handling units manufactured at Daikin are loaded onto trucks and delivered to the job site for installation when needed.